JP2015147265A - assembly apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an assembly apparatus rich in versatility, and applicable to various work processes.SOLUTION: An assembly apparatus 1 includes robots 5, 6 and 21 which are movable in any of the Z axis direction set as the vertical direction of components 40, 41 and 42 being work objects on a transport device 30, and in the X axis direction and the Y axis direction set as the directions orthogonal to each other in a plane orthogonal to the Z axis, and whose hands can be replaced according to the work content, the robots 5, 6 and 21 performing work on the components 40, 41 and 42. The assembly apparatus 1 also includes a quality confirming image recognition device 20 for determining a state of the component 42 based on a photographed image.

Description

  The present invention relates to an assembling apparatus for automatically assembling parts on a workpiece.

  As an assembly apparatus used in a production line, Patent Document 1 discloses a plurality of Z-axis units that can be moved up and down in a vertical direction (Z-axis direction) with respect to a workpiece, a hand that performs assembly work and the like attached to the Z-axis unit, An apparatus having a configuration including: According to this assembling apparatus, it becomes possible to assemble a plurality of parts at one work station, and it is possible to prevent the production line from becoming longer. Further, by changing the hand attached to the Z-axis unit or changing the layout of a plurality of Z-axis units, it is possible to cope with changes or additions in production processes or changes in products to be produced.

JP-A-5-084676

  However, the assembly apparatus of the above document does not include an inspection system. For this reason, for example, when the assembly apparatus described in the above document is used in the process of soldering a board to a power module in an inverter production line, soldering is performed without being found even if the board is cracked. Although cracks in the substrate can be detected by providing an inspection process on the downstream side, the power module after soldering cannot be reused and is discarded, resulting in a deterioration in production cost. Therefore, the assembling apparatus of the above-mentioned document has limited processes that can be applied.

  Then, it aims at providing the assembly apparatus which can be applied to a wider work process.

  According to an aspect of the present invention, the Z-axis direction that is set in the vertical direction of the component that is the work target on the transport device, the X-axis direction that is set in a direction orthogonal to each other in a plane orthogonal to the Z-axis, and An assembly apparatus is provided that includes a robot that can move in any of the Y-axis directions and that can exchange hands according to the content of work, and in which the robot performs work on parts. The assembling apparatus includes a quality confirmation image recognition apparatus that determines the state of a component based on a photographed image.

  According to the above aspect, the assembly apparatus includes the image recognition apparatus for quality confirmation, so that quality assurance can be performed in the assembly apparatus. Therefore, the assembly apparatus is highly versatile and can be applied to various work processes. it can.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the assembling apparatus. FIG. 2 is a part of a flowchart of an operation for attaching the substrate to the power module. FIG. 3 is another part of a flowchart of the operation of attaching the substrate to the power module. FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating an example of a captured image of the image recognition apparatus. FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating another example of a captured image of the image recognition apparatus. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating still another example of a captured image of the image recognition apparatus. 7A and 7B are diagrams illustrating a case where (A) is a basic production line, (B) is a case where the order of a part of the production process is changed, and (C) is a case where a new process is added.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

(First embodiment)
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an assembly apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. In the following description, the vertical direction of the conveying device 30 is defined as the Z axis, the direction in which components and the like are conveyed by the conveying device 30 is defined as the X axis, and the axis orthogonal to the X axis in the plane orthogonal to the Z axis is defined as the Y axis.

  The assembling apparatus 1 includes a base 8 and a pair of parallel rails 10 fixed to the base 8 via struts 9.

  In the assembling apparatus 1, the rail 10 coincides with the X-axis direction, the transport device 30 is sandwiched between the pair of rails 10 in the Y-axis direction, and the transport device 30 is sandwiched between the base 8 and the pair of rails 10 in the Z-axis direction. To be installed.

  An X-axis slider 2 is stretched over the pair of rails 10 in parallel with the Y-axis. Although two X-axis sliders 2 are shown in FIG. 1, at least one X-axis slider may be used. In the following description, when it is necessary to distinguish between the two X-axis sliders 2, the front side in the transport direction is referred to as an X-axis slider 2A, and the rear side in the transport direction is referred to as an X-axis slider 2B.

  The X-axis slider 2 can move along a guide provided on the upper surface of the rail 10. That is, the X-axis slider 2 can move in the X-axis direction while keeping the same state as the Y-axis direction. A linear motor 11 is used to move the X-axis slider 2. However, other driving sources may be used as long as the X-axis slider 2 can be moved at high speed like the linear motor 11.

  A Y-axis slider 3 is supported on the X-axis slider 2 so as to be movable along a guide provided on the X-axis slider 2. In FIG. 1, two Y-axis sliders 3 are supported on each X-axis slider 2, but the present invention is not limited to this. A linear motor is used for the movement of the Y-axis slider 3 in the same manner as the X-axis slider 2. In the following description, when it is necessary to distinguish the Y-axis slider 3, the Y-axis slider 3A, 3B is supported by the X-axis slider 2A, the Y-axis slider 3C is supported by the X-axis slider 2B, Let it be 3D.

  A Z-axis slider 4 is supported on the Y-axis slider 3 so as to be movable along a guide provided in the Y-axis slider 3 and extending in the Z-axis direction. Similarly to the X-axis slider 2, a linear motor is used to move the Z-axis slider 4. In the following description, when it is necessary to distinguish the Z-axis slider 4, those supported by the Y-axis sliders 3A to 3D are referred to as Z-axis sliders 4A to 4D, respectively.

  With the above configuration, the Z-axis slider 4 can move in any of the three axial directions of the X-axis, the Y-axis, and the Z-axis.

  In the present embodiment, the assembling apparatus 1 is applied to an inverter production line and used for the process of attaching the substrate 42 to the power module 40.

  A soldering device 21 is attached to the Z-axis slider 4A, an image recognition device 20 for quality confirmation is attached to the Z-axis slider 4B, an assembly hand 5 is attached to the Z-axis slider 4C, and a Z-axis slider 4D is attached to the Z-axis slider 4D. A nutrunner 6 is attached. The soldering device 21, the assembly hand 5, and the nut runner 6 are all robot hands attached to the Z-axis slider 4. That is, the robot hand is not limited to the one having the function of grasping an object like the assembly hand 5 but refers to a working tool attached to the robot.

  The nut runner 6 is a tool for tightening screw-like members such as bolts and screws. The magazine 7 provided in the assembling apparatus 1 holds a plurality of nut runners 6 having different socket sizes, and the robot attached to the Z-axis slider 4D can automatically replace the nut runners 6 with a tool change function.

  In addition to the nut runner 6, a workpiece-side phase confirmation image recognition device 22 for confirming the phase of the head of the screw-like member is attached to the Z-axis slider 4 </ b> D. On the base 8 of the assembling apparatus 1, a nutrunner phase confirmation image recognition device 23 for confirming the phase of the socket of the nutrunner 6 is installed.

  In addition, the conveying apparatus 30 has a configuration in which a work pallet 31 on which the power module 40 is placed and a parts supply pallet 32 on which parts to be assembled to the power module 40 are carried together.

  Next, operations performed by the assembly apparatus 1 having the above-described configuration will be described.

  A power module 40 is mounted on the work pallet 31, and a lid 41 and a substrate 42 are mounted on the component supply pallet 32. The substrate 42 is bolted to the power module 40 and is placed on the component supply pallet 32 with the bolt inserted into the bolt hole. This is because the time required for supplying the bolts to the bolt holes in the component assembling process is omitted.

  2 and 3 are flowcharts of the work of assembling the other part to one part and bolting. Here, the case where the board | substrate 42 is attached to the power module 40 is demonstrated to an example.

  When the work pallet 31 is conveyed to a predetermined position (S10), the work pallet 31 is stopped and fixed. That is, the power module 40 is fixed (S20).

  First, it is determined whether or not the nut runner 6 needs to be replaced (S30). That is, it is determined whether or not the current nut runner 6 is suitable for a board mounting bolt.

  If exchange is necessary, an appropriate one is selected from those held in the magazine 7 and automatically exchanged (S40). When the nut runner 6 is automatically replaced, the phase of the socket after the replacement is recognized by the nut runner phase confirmation image recognition device 23 (S50).

  When the nutrunner 6 is not required to be replaced and after the socket phase is recognized in S50, it is determined whether or not a pre-assembly inspection is necessary (S60). The pre-assembly inspection is an inspection for checking the presence / absence of a defective portion using an image recognition device for parts before work in this process. When the component to be worked is the substrate 42, the presence or absence of a defective portion such as a circuit breakage or a crack in the substrate 42 is confirmed by a pre-assembly inspection. If the substrate 42 having a defective portion can be found before work, the assembly process can be avoided by replacing it with a normal substrate 42 immediately. In particular, in the case of a component to be soldered after assembly, such as the board 42, when the defective part is detected after soldering, it cannot be disassembled and reassembled and must be discarded. Significant to conduct the inspection. In addition, if it is a component which can be easily reassembled, it is not necessary to inspect before assembly.

  When the pre-assembly inspection is performed, the quality confirmation image recognition apparatus 20 is moved above the substrate 42 (S70), and the presence / absence of a defective portion is confirmed based on an image obtained by photographing the substrate 42 (S80, S90). .

  FIG. 4 is an image of the substrate 42 taken by the quality confirmation image recognition apparatus 20. A range surrounded by a circle is a shooting range of the quality confirmation image recognition apparatus 20.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when there is a crack in the circuit board 42 or a circuit break, a warning is given that there is a defective part (S100). When the warning is issued, the component (board 42) is replaced (S110), and the pre-assembly inspection is executed again.

  For example, when a warning is issued, the parts replacement work is performed by the operator while the assembly apparatus 1 is stopped and the assembly work is stopped.

  If no defective part is detected in the pre-assembly inspection, a part assembly operation is executed (S120). That is, the substrate 42 is attached to the power module 40 by the assembly hand 5.

  Then, the workpiece side phase confirmation image recognition device 22 is positioned so that the phase of the bolt inserted into the bolt hole of the substrate 42 can be photographed (S130), and the phase of the bolt is detected based on the photographed image (S130). S140). When the bolt phase is detected, the nut runner 6 is moved to the bolt position (S150), and the rotation axis of the nut runner 6 is rotated so that the detected bolt phase matches the nut runner 6 phase (S160).

  When the phase of the nut runner 6 matches the phase of the bolt, the nut runner 6 is lowered (S170), and the socket of the nut runner 6 and the head of the bolt are engaged (S180).

  Then, the nut runner 6 tightens the bolt to a specified torque (S190, S200), and then tightens to a specified angle (S210, S220). The specified torque and the specified angle are stored in advance in the nut runner 6.

  Note that when tightening bolts that do not require angle tightening, the operations of S210 and S220 can be omitted.

  When the bolt is tightened to the specified angle, the rotation of the nut runner 6 is stopped (S230), and the phase of the nut runner 6 at that time is stored (S240). Thereby, the operation | work which confirms the phase of the nutrunner 6 again by the nutrunner phase confirmation image recognition device 23 can be omitted.

  If the phase of the nut runner 6 is memorized, it is determined whether or not there are other bolt tightening locations (S250). If there is no other bolting point, the work pallet 31 is released. If there are other bolt tightening points, the process returns to S140, and the operations of S150 to S240 are repeated for the other bolts.

  As described above, since the presence or absence of cracks or the like of the substrate 42 is determined by the pre-assembly inspection before being attached to the power module 40, it is possible to prevent soldering work from being performed on the substrate 42 having defects such as cracks.

  By the way, the assembling apparatus 1 of this embodiment is applicable also to the soldering operation | work of the attached board | substrate 42. FIG. In this case, before soldering, the attachment state of the substrate 42 is confirmed by the image recognition device 20 for quality confirmation, and it is determined whether or not the pins of the power module 40 are correctly accommodated in the pin holes of the substrate 42. If it does not fit, disassemble and reattach it before soldering. If it fits, solder it as it is.

  When the soldering operation is completed, it is determined whether or not there is a defect in the part soldered by the quality confirmation image recognition apparatus 20. For example, when the amount of solder is out of a predetermined amount set in advance, it is determined that there is a problem. If there is a problem, the power module is excluded from the production line.

  Thus, by determining the state of the substrate 42 before work by the image recognition device 20 for quality confirmation, it is possible to avoid performing soldering work on the defective substrate 42. And the state of the board | substrate 42 after an operation | work is determined by the image recognition apparatus 20 for quality confirmation, and it can prevent that the power module 40 which was not normally soldered flows into a downstream process.

  The assembling apparatus 1 can also be applied to the operation of attaching the lid 41 to the power module 40 after attaching the substrate 42 to the power module 40 and soldering. In this case, basically the same work flow as in FIGS. 2 and 3 is executed. However, before attaching the lid 41 to the power module 40, a so-called FIPG sealing material is applied to the upper edge portion of the casing of the power module 40. Then, as the pre-assembly inspection, the quality confirmation image recognition device 20 determines whether or not the sealing material is correctly applied.

  FIG. 5 is an image obtained by photographing the state of the power module 40 before work as a pre-assembly inspection. As shown in the figure, when the lid 41 is bolted in a state where there is a portion where the sealing material is not applied (a portion where the seal is cut), the sealing performance of the power module 40 cannot be secured. Moreover, if it is determined whether or not there is a sealing failure in the subsequent process inspection, the sealing material is crushed by bolting and cannot be reused. Therefore, it is necessary to re-apply after removing the sealing material. Assembly work becomes complicated. On the other hand, if it is determined whether or not there is an unsealed portion by the pre-assembly inspection, if there is an unsealed portion, it is only necessary to apply a sealing material to that portion. In addition, it is possible to determine whether or not the sealing material is removed from the upper edge portion of the casing of the power module 40 as well as the seal-cut portion.

  In the above description, as the contents of the pre-assembly inspection, the presence / absence of cracks, cracks, etc. of the substrate 42, the presence / absence of a broken seal, etc. have been described. The shape may be determined. If the part shape is determined by the pre-assembly inspection, even if a part different from the part assembled in the process is placed, it can be easily found. In addition, chipping of parts can be found.

  FIG. 6 is an example of a photographing screen of the quality confirmation image recognition device 20 when the part shape is determined in the pre-assembly inspection. As shown in the figure, the shape of the part to be assembled in the process (broken line in the figure) is recognized in advance, and if this shape does not match the shape of the photographed part (solid line in the figure), the part is different, or It is determined that the part has a chip or the like. Thereby, it is possible to avoid assembling different parts or defective parts.

  Next, photographing by the quality confirmation image recognition device 20 will be described.

  The quality confirmation image recognition apparatus 20 of the present embodiment changes the position in the Z-axis direction according to the contents of the inspection. For example, in order to detect cracks or the like on the substrate 42, an image capable of recognizing a flaw of 10 microns is required. Therefore, the image recognition device for quality confirmation 20 is brought close to the object to be photographed to such an extent that cracks in units of 10 microns can be confirmed.

  In the case of detecting the application state of the sealing material (presence / absence of a broken portion of the seal), an image capable of recognizing a broken seal in units of 100 microns is required. Therefore, the image recognition device for quality confirmation 20 is brought close to the object to be photographed to such an extent that a seal broken portion in units of 100 microns can be recognized.

  When detecting a difference in the shape of a component, the quality confirmation image recognition device 20 is brought close to the object to be photographed to such an extent that a difference in shape of 1 mm can be recognized. Note that when a plurality of components are placed on the component supply pallet 32, the shape of the plurality of components may be determined by one shooting.

  In addition, for example, when detecting a state where a necessary component is not placed on the component supply pallet 32 (out of stock state), the image recognition device 20 for quality confirmation is photographed to the extent that the shape can be recognized in units of several millimeters. Move closer to the object.

  In any of the cases described above, when the quality confirmation image recognition device 20 is brought close to the object to be photographed so that the object to be photographed does not fall within a single photographing range, the quality confirmation image recognition device 20 is shifted and photographed a plurality of times. By doing so, the entire object to be photographed is photographed.

  As described above, the quality confirmation image recognition apparatus 20 changes the distance from the object to be imaged according to the item to be detected. Thereby, different detection items can be handled by one image recognition apparatus.

  Next, the effect of the assembly apparatus 1 is demonstrated.

  Since the assembling apparatus 1 includes the quality recognizing image recognition device 20 in addition to the assembling hand 5 and the nut runner 6, it is possible to guarantee the quality within the system of the assembling apparatus 1. Thereby, it is possible to flexibly cope with replacement or addition of production processes. This point will be described in more detail with reference to FIG.

  FIG. 7 shows a case where (A) is a basic production line, (B) is a case where the order of a part of the production process is changed, and (C) is a case where a new process is added. As shown in FIG. 7A, a production line in which the first to fourth component assembly steps are performed by the first to fourth devices from the component loading to the component unloading is defined as a basic production line. In an actual production line, it may be necessary to replace the second part assembly process and the fourth part assembly process as shown in FIG. ), It may be necessary to add fifth and sixth assembly steps.

  For example, the second assembly process requires quality confirmation after assembly work, and the second apparatus has a quality assurance function, but the fourth assembly process does not require quality confirmation after assembly work. Consider the case where there is no guarantee function. In this case, in order to change the process order as shown in FIG. 7B, the second apparatus and the fourth apparatus must be replaced, and a rapid process change is difficult.

  On the other hand, since the assembling apparatus 1 includes the image recognition apparatus 20 for quality confirmation, it can cope with any process. That is, if the assembling apparatus 1 is applied to each process, it is possible to flexibly cope with a change in process order and addition of processes.

  Moreover, since the image recognition apparatus 20 for quality confirmation can recognize the state of the parts before the assembly work, there is no situation of assembling the defective parts, and the production loss can be reduced. In particular, by detecting defective parts before a process that is difficult to reassemble, such as soldering, production loss can be greatly reduced.

  The quality confirmation image recognition device 20 changes the distance from the target component according to the determination item, and also changes the number of times of photographing if necessary, so that various items can be determined by one device. That is, since various determinations with different required resolutions can be executed by one apparatus, the equipment cost can be suppressed.

  Further, the robot of the assembling apparatus 1 can be moved in the three-axis direction by the movement of the X-axis slider 2, the Y-axis slider 3, and the Z-axis slider 4, so that it can be moved in the three-axis direction by an articulated arm. It is easy to ensure high rigidity compared to a simple robot. For this reason, it can be applied not only to the assembly of lightweight parts such as the substrate 42 but also to the assembly of heavy parts such as engine parts.

  The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made within the scope of the technical idea described in the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Assembly apparatus 2 X-axis slider 3 Y-axis slider 4 Z-axis slider 5 Assembly hand 6 Nutrunner 10 Rail 11 Linear motor 20 Quality confirmation image recognition device 21 Soldering device 22 Work side phase confirmation image recognition device 23 Nutrunner phase confirmation Image recognition device 30 Transport device

Claims (4)

Moves in both the Z-axis direction set in the vertical direction of the parts to be worked on the transport device, and the X-axis direction and the Y-axis direction set in directions orthogonal to each other in a plane orthogonal to the Z-axis. Equipped with a robot that can exchange hands according to the work content,
In the assembly apparatus in which the robot performs work on the component,
An assembly apparatus comprising: a quality confirmation image recognition device that determines a state of the component based on a photographed image. The assembly apparatus according to claim 1,
The quality confirmation image recognition apparatus can determine at least one of a state of the part before work or a state of the part after work. The assembly apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
The quality confirmation image recognition apparatus changes the distance from the component in accordance with an item to be determined based on an image. The assembly apparatus according to claim 3, wherein
When the component does not fit within a single shooting range, the quality confirmation image recognition device moves in at least one direction of the X-axis direction or the Y-axis direction and shoots the entire component in multiple steps. An assembly apparatus characterized by:

Images